The white paper notes several positive benefits of owning a home, but the one that particularly stood out was that homeowners are happier than renters. The paper referenced a study done by two researchers in 1996 that took empirical evidence from national surveys.

Similarly, Rossi and Weber concluded that homeowners report higher self-esteem and happiness than renters. For example, homeowners are more likely to believe that they can do things as well as anyone else, and they report higher self ratings on their physical health even after controlling for age and socioeconomic factors. In addition to being more satisfied with their own personal situation than renters, homeowners also enjoy better physical and psychological health.

The research is obviously dated, as a survey done now of homeowners may report less happiness, since so many are underwater. However, the study did control for socioeconomic factors, such as the fact that the higher income populations had higher percentages of home ownership. While money doesn’t bring happiness, surely it helps. Maybe the happiness comes from feeling in control of one’s personal environment and living situation. As so many readers commented on awful landlords, finally being the captain of your own ship must be pretty liberating. While hard to ignore the financial factors, if you were to take them out, has owning – or not – made you happier?